Today's Walk Through the Tombstones is at the Pioneer Cemetery located on the Crown Hill Cemetery property. There are three small pioneer cemeteries that were moved here over time,. finally getting monuments in 2008. Graves that were found were moved as well, though this one didn't seem to have any graves that were located. There is a large stone monument with some information on it. As these are three separate cemeteries, albeit located with another cemetery within another cemetery (it's a little confusing), I decided to do a post for each separate one.
It was the original burying site for many of the first settlers of Indianapolis as well as Union and Confederate Soldiers, some now residing in the Confederate Mound in Crown Hill. The cemetery was closed in 1890 to new burials and many were also relocated due to the flooding of the White River. Many of the graves were moved to Crown Hill, but these were by the more affluent families. Concerns rose from the fact that Crown Hill plots were far more expensive and many burials at the City Cemetery were those of much poorer families.
Recently with work happening at the Henry Street Bridge project, graves have been discovered. It is possible that when the Diamond Chain Building was built in 1917, they covered over many of the grave sites as at this time there was no law to protect them.
 |
| Map Collection, Indiana State Library |
You can read the Wikipedia article here. The Indiana State Library has a wonderful blog post about the cemetery which pertains to a project by Emmerich Manual Training High School as a art project in the early 1920s before remaining graves were moved. There are some wonderful photographs and maps along with some much information. A May 1, 2024 article in the Mirror Indy discusses the recent projects at the Henry Street Bridge and the nearby apartment complex construction. This work has disturbed many graves and human remains. It is possible that in uncovering these remains, they have discovered the city's first segregated cemetery. There are so many articles about this cemetery, with so much information that really brings to light the terrible way these remains have been treated over the years.
Axios Indianapolis - Development could unearth remains at Indy's first Black cemetery
According to Find-A-Grave, there were 727 interments at this cemetery, though the sign says 1,160 on the front. A few names are listed on the back but no where near as many as the mentioned numbers.
The back side reads:
When the Pioneer Cemetery was established in Crown Hill in 2008, this monument was erected. It reads:
"In memory of the over 1,160 pioneers originally buried in Greenlawn Cemetery and moved to Crown Hill Cemetery in 1912. This memorial honors these original citizens of Indianapolis.
Greenlawn was the first cemetery known to exist in Indianapolis and located on a small tract of land beyond the southwest end of Kentucky Avenue near the White River.
In addition to the pioneers buried within this lot, several thousand burials were moved from Greenlawn Cemetery to Crown Hill and other area cemeteries. Among those were 1,616 Confederate Soldiers who were reburied in 1933 at the Confederate Mound located in Section 32 of Crown Hill."
"Greenlawn Cemetery burials include members of the following families:
Baker - Sarah A.
Cooper - Clarence
Craighead - four unknown
Given - John
Hanch - W.D., Barbara, Sarah
Hollands - Nancy F. Julia P, Infant, John and George
Hunter - David, Marha R. Mary, John, Moses, John, Rebecca A. Margaret, Martha A. and Infants
Johnson - John W. and Wife, James M.
Lawson - two unknown
Lewis - one unknown
Orr - Benjamin
Petticord - Eli, Elizabeth, and Mary I.
Porter - George
Sponable - Phillip, Jenny and one unknown
Wallace - Jane and Minnie
West - Abner S.
Yates - Benjamin
Colonel Aaron C. Johnson Former Sheriff of Fayette County, Ohio, Veteran of the War of 1812"
There were said to be at least three famous graves here. I will list them below as they are not listed on this monument.
Andrew Kennedy
Born: July 24, 1810, Dayton, Montgomery County, Ohio
Died: December 31, 1847, Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana
He was the son of Stephen C. Kennedy (?-?) and Mary McMann Kennedy (?-?). He had three siblings and 9 half-siblings, though I haven't found the names of any of them. He is part of the famous Kennedy political family.
He was a blacksmith apprentice before studying law, practicing for a while in Connersville, before moving to Muncie, Indiana. At some point, he entered into politics, holding the following positions: Member of the Indiana House of Representatives in 1835; Member of the Indiana State Senate from 1836-1840; Candidate for Presidential Elector from Indiana in 1840; United States Congress in 1841; member of the United States House of Representatives 1841-1847; United States Senate nominee in 1847. He left politics to return to law. He died of small pox rather suddenly in 1847.
~~~~
Noah Noble
Born: January 14, 1794, Berryville, Clarke County, Virginia
Died: February 8, 1844, Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana
He came to Indiana in 1816 and was a land speculator before entering into the wool carding business. He joined the 7th Regiment of the Indiana Militia in 1820 and served as a colonel. After leaving his military service, he became Sheriff of Franklin County from 1820-1824. After that, he was a member of the Indiana House of Representatives, and served as the Receiver of Public Money of the Indianapolis Land Office. In 1831, he was elected Governor of Indiana and stayed in that capacity until 1837. Noble County, Indiana was named in his honor.
~~~
Caleb Blood Smith
Born: April 16, 1808, Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts
Died: January 7, 1864, Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana
He came studied law at Cincinnati College and Miami University in Ohio before passing the bar in 1828 and setting up practice in Connersville, Indiana. Four years later he founded the Indiana Sentinel, a newspaper that served the Whig Party. In 1833, he was elected to the Indiana House of Representatives. In 1843, he joined the US House of Representatives where he stayed for seven years supporting the Whig ideals. He returned to Ohio in 1851, resuming his law practice and also to manage the Cincinnati and Chicago Railroad. In 1860, he was part of the Indiana delegation to the Republican National Convention. When Lincoln was elected president, Smith became his secretary. During his time there, he caused quote a stir, finally resigning his post when he became ill in 1862. A large private mausoleum was constructed at Crown Hill Cemetery, but upon his death he was instead interred at Greenlawn Mausoleum, later to be moved to Connersville City Cemetery, but no one has been able to locate his burial site. Some believe that due to threats by Confederate sympathizers, his body was held within the Elmhurst at Connersville. Smith had requested to be buried at Elmhurst since it was his home. Local historians believe that the family placed his body under the flagstone floor of the basement. His burial is a cenotaph at Greenlawn Cemetery.
~~~
When we were there, I did not see any headstone for this cemetery, though after looking online, there are some headstone photos for various interments, those of which were probably moved by the more well off families.
~~~
Looking through the names listed on the back of the monument, here is what I found, which in all honesty is not much -
Sarah A. Baker
Born: unknown
Died: unknown
~~~
Clarence Cooper
No information
~~~
Four Unknown Craigheads
No information
~~~
Mary Francis Cunningham
No information
~~~
John Given
No information
~~~
W.D Hanch
No information
~~~
Barbara Hanch
Born: unknown
Died: unknown
Gravesite is listed as Crown Hill
~~~
Sarah Hanch
No information
~~~
Nancy F., Julia P., Infant, John and George Hollands
No Information
~~~
John Hunter
Born: unknown, Ohio
Died: 1912
Gravesite is listed as Crown Hill
~~~
David, Martha R. Mary, Moses, John, Rebecca A. Margaret, Martha A. and Infants Hunter
No information
~~
John W. Johnson
Born: unknown
Died: unknown
Gravesite is listed as Crown Hill
~~~
James M. Johnson
Born unknown
Died: unknown
Gravesite is listed as Crown Hill
~~~
Wife of John W. Johnson
No information
~~~
Unknown Lawsons
Unknown Lawsons
No information
~~~
Unknown Lewis
No information
~~~
Benjamin Orr
Born: 1816
Died: September 1, 1845, Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana
Gravesite is listed as Crown Hill
~~~
Eli Petticord
Born unknown
Died: unknown
Gravesite is listed as Crown Hill
~~~
Elizabeth Petticord
Born unknown
Died: unknown
Gravesite is listed as Crown Hill
~~~
Mary I. Petticord
Born unknown
Died: unknown
Gravesite is listed as Crown Hill
~~~
George Potter
No information
~~~
Jenny Sponable
Born unknown
Died: unknown
Gravesite is listed as Crown Hill
~~~
Phillip Sponable
Born unknown
Died: unknown
Gravesite is listed as Crown Hill
~~~
Unknown Sponable
No information
~~~
Jane and Minnie Wallace
No information
~~~
Abner S. West
Born unknown
Died: unknown
Gravesite is listed as Crown Hill
~~~
Benjamin Yates
No information
~~~
There is no entry for Colonel Aaron Johnson. I have found mention of a Colonel Aaron Johnson as a War of 1812 veteran in some places, but it is mostly for Illinois. I am not sure if this is the same Colonel Johnson or not. I did find a note on an Ohio website that states the following:
"Phoebe Bloomer was a pioneer in the millinery business. She married Col. Aaron Johnson, who was sheriff of this county, and who, for a number of years kept a hotel in Washington. They removed to Indiana." There was a facebook page that mentioned a dedication for a monument for Colonel Aaron Johnson to rededicate his burial site, but that page is now gone.
~~~
Greenlawn, aka City, Cemetery, has so much history and it is sad that it was so disrespected at the time, but now thanks to historians, archaeologists and the concerned community we may be able to take back this history for the families and learn so much.
Thanks for joining me in our little walk at Greenlawn Cemetery. You can see more about it here.
0 comments:
Post a Comment